Letters from Tom Benson and the Hornets Executives

It’s a privilege to communicate with you for the first time as the new owner of the Hornets as I embrace the challenge and advantages local sports fans will enjoy from my long-standing ownership of the Saints and member of the New Orleans community. I understand the passion of our fans and the partnership our sports teams have forged with the state of Louisiana.

I first want to reiterate with our recent ownership announcement and new lease agreement with the state, your Hornets are here to stay for generations to come. I am so excited and proud to be the steward of both professional franchises that are held so dear to the people of this wonderful region.

I can’t say enough about the unwavering support and dedication of all our fans as we understand and don’t take for granted your commitment and passion for our teams and how essential that is to our overall success.

Please understand that my resolve will be to continue to make you proud and build both professional franchises into a championship caliber organization. The renaissance going on in our city is something I amproud to be a part of and as an organization, we will continue to capture the spirit of the “New” New Orleans into our culture in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and New Orleans Arena during our games and throughout our extensive community endeavors.

We will continue to do with the Hornets what we’ve tried to accomplish over the years with the Saints: create exciting and memorable experiences for our beloved fans, perform like champions in all we do, inspire and engage this community in creating a limitless future and remain proud global ambassadors for our hometown of New Orleans.

Thanks again for being part of something special.

Go Saints and Go Hornets!

Tom Benson

Dear Krewe of Hornets,

The entire Hornets family would like to extend our sincere appreciation for your unwavering support throughout this season and express to you how your commitment and passion for our team is essential to our overall success.

The exciting announcement of Tom Benson as our new owner just reinforces the positive momentum we are building and completes our most significant goal of securing local ownership.

None of this would have been possible without the effort and contribution by supporters to our team and our city. From the unprecedented support of the Governor and Mayor to the Business Council and the many, many others that even allowed us to come into their homes during our 100 Events in 100 Days initiative.

Mr. Benson is obviously connected and passionate about New Orleans and Louisiana and is committed to putting a championship franchise together while maintaining the highest-quality-level of entertainment and believes in the path, culture and leadership that we began many months ago.

The trajectory of the future of the Hornets matches the bright hopes we all share for the city of New Orleans and our region.

BUILD A CHAMPION: We will have financial stability which will allow us the opportunity to make sound long-term player and business decisions that will eventually make us an elite team. This year’s NBA Draft is deep and with two lottery picks in the upcoming draft, we look forward to adding to our young, aggressive, improving core players and exploring the free agent market to add players who can keep us competitive for years to come.

INSURE FINANCIAL STABILITY WITH STRONG FAN SUPPORT: Our 100 Events in 100 Days initiative brought us unprecedented success in leading the NBA in new season ticket sales this past summer while totaling an all-time high 5 Crescent City Champion partners.

GUARANTEE LONG-TERM PLAY AT THE NEW ORLEANS ARENA: The signing of a new long-term lease with the state guarantees that the Hornets will remain in New Orleans for generations to come.

TRANSFORM THE ARENA TO MAKE OUR FANS’ EXPERIENCE EVEN MORE FUN: Significant capital improvements in the Arena will result in the potential for increased team revenues and will reward our fans with new amenities that will provide a real improvement in comfort and entertainment.

INCREASE THE NUMBER OF FANS WHO CAN WATCH HORNETS’ GAMES ON TV: A new broadcast agreement will increase our audience and ultimately our fan base.

Your Hornets are on the rise. We could not have arrived at this moment without your support. We look forward to the bright future of the franchise and working together for the “New” New Orleans.

This is awesome, if he keeps Dell and Monty around everyone is will be forced to take the Hornets seriously as an up and coming team from now on. J, those are horrible ideas and they are not feasible either